Brian Burres: Unlikely Pittsburgh Pirates Hero

When I first saw Brian Burres listed as a substitute for disabled Ross Ohlendorf for an away game with San Francisco in early April, my gut reaction was, "You've got to be kidding."

And given that one game, in which he gave up six runs in four innings, that was a reasonable reaction. What else can you expect from someone characterized by a Bucs Dugout writer as a "low velocity lefty...mediocrity"?

But Burres has improved dramatically since then. In his next two outings, for a total of 5.2 innings, he gave up only a total of four runs. Not a great showing, but we've seen worse.

And in his last two games, of 5.1 and 7.0 innings, he gave up ZERO runs. That's over 12 consecutive innings of shutout ball.

He won't always be this good. But he won't have to be. Because those two games were good for two wins right there. As it should be.

At age 29, Burres is a "late bloomer," in the manner of a Garrett Jones or a Nyjer Morgan. Teams gave up on him, thinking he would "never" do it because he hadn't earlier. But he just did.

He started out as a San Francisco Giant. Then he was selected off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles. Then he was selected off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays, who chose not to offer him arbitration, thereby making him prematurely a free agent.

That's because Burres had a high (over 6.00) ERA with the Orioles, and then an astronomical one (over 14.00) with the Blue Jays. That was the case even though his FIP (sabermetric ERA) was typically between 4.00 and 5.00.

Such a discrepancy suggests either an unlucky streak for a small sample size or "soft-tossing" unworthy of a major league pitcher. The problem is that it takes about 500 innings or three full seasons worth of data for even a starter's statistics to be meaningful (more for relievers). But most teams give up long before then.

As such, Burres signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates around New Year's, and was sent to double A. Just another stop in an otherwise forgettable career.

But fortune, in the form of the Pirates' misfortune, intervened on his behalf. First Ohlendorf's back spasms, and then the flame-outs of Charlie Morton and Dan McCutchen made Burress a necessary part of the Bucs' rotation.

Burres has proven decidedly better than Morton and McCutchen. In fact, he has a better ERA (4.09) than any other member of the original rotation except Ohlendorf, who has pitched far fewer innings.

Also, no other Pittsburgh starter except Jeff Karstens has pitched a shutout even once during his time on the mound this year, let alone twice.  In fact, the only other Pirate pitcher in the past five years to pitch two consecutive shutout starts of five innings or more was Karstens, in August 2008.

Burres' ERA is finally catching down to his mid-four FIP, which suggests at least league average ability. His recent performance suggests that he may be better than that. Soon, he may emerge as a No. 2 starter, or a strong No. 3. Whatever the final outcome, it seems that his earlier bad luck has gone away.

Burres has had two previously failed attempts at making the majors. Perhaps the third time will be the charm. Based on what he has done recently, he has earned the chance.